Overseas students attending a Chinese cultural immersion program spent a week learning Chinese, experiencing traditional art and doing outdoor activities in Shanghai, from July 17 to 23.

The program, part of the 2017 Shanghai Summer School series, was a joint effort of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and Shanghai University, and attracted 42 participants from 12 countries.

The foreign students were first given customized Chinese classes delivered in accordance with their language proficiency, which helped them ease their initial feelings of being in a strange environment and encouraged them to explore the school and the city.

They also attended various lectures on topics ranging from Chinese culture and art to the vocational development of Chinese youth.

At a cultural exchange party with Chinese students on July 20, the foreign visitors were treated to a variety of traditional Chinese art forms, particularly those requiring them to draw on different materials such as eggs, fans and blue-and-white porcelain.

Aside from cultural immersion, the students also took part in various outdoor activities – taking a night river ride along the Huangpu River, or ascending the Oriental Pearl Tower to appreciate the city's grandeur and beauty. They had a taste of Confucian culture at the Jiading Confucius Temple, and lingered in Zhujiajiao to enjoy the charm of the ancient water town and its distinctive cuisine.

Shanghai University has been home to various Shanghai Summer School programs, such as the Confucius Institute program, which, by bringing together the university and the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban), has attracted hundreds of students since its initiation in 2012.

A group of overseas students poses along the Huangpu River. [Photo/shu.edu.cn]